


that's the sound of longing

by seemeeimbeebee



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Family Reunion, mentioned outlaw queen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-07-02 08:57:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15793263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seemeeimbeebee/pseuds/seemeeimbeebee
Summary: Robin takes Alice to get her father's blessing for their marriage. They find someone completely different.





	that's the sound of longing

**Author's Note:**

> Because we deserved this, damn it.

“You don’t have to do this, y’know,” Alice said gently, swinging Robin’s hand back and forth. “You’ve already shown me so much of your life in Storybrooke. You don’t have to do this if you’re not ready.” They looked at the gates to the cemetery, and the green grass lined with headstones in front of them. “It’s a lot to ask of anyone.”

Robin smiled sadly and kissed Alice’s cheek. “I saved you from a crazy witch coven with your dad. I…I want you to meet mine,” she said quietly, squeezing Alice’s hand for support. “Besides, I just…I dunno, it feels weird if he doesn’t meet you at least once.”

“Then why do you look like I do when there’s no marmalade?” Alice pressed, squeezing Robin’s hand in a little bit tighter in return. Robin sighed and ran her free hand through her hair, looking agitated. “I’ll tell you what,” Alice offered, kissing their joined hands. “I’ll go in first and introduce myself. Your Papa can give me the “if you hurt my daughter” speech, and then when you’re ready you can join us.”

Robin let out a genuine laugh, especially at the voice Alice used when imitating her own father giving Robin the same speech.

“ _Besides_ ,” Alice added for emphasis. “You got to ask my Papa for permission to marry you. Can’t I ask yours?”

Robin leaned in to kiss her softly, her throat choked up. But she hoped her thanks and her love and all of her feelings into the kiss. Alice must’ve known, for Alice gently cupped her cheek and pressed their foreheads together when they broke apart. “Love you, Tower Girl,” she mumbled, nuzzling their noses together.

“Love you too, Nobin,” Alice teased, kissing her once more. “All right, any ways to win over your Papa that I should know about?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Robin said quietly, a hint of sadness in her voice. Then she smiled and squeezed Alice’s hands gently. “It’s okay. Go ahead. I’ll be behind you in just a little bit.”

Alice smiled and stepped forward, walking on the stone path that weaved its way through the cemetery. Regina had said it was toward the end of the path by the forked tree, and that she would know it when she saw it.

It was no secret to the denizens of Storybrooke that Regina kept Robin Hood’s grave well maintained, even since her reign of being The Good Queen had started. While it wasn’t every day, it certainly wasn’t a rare occurrence to see Regina sitting beside the grave of her soulmate, sometimes crying, sometimes laughing, sometimes just sitting peacefully.

What was a rare occurrence, or at least in Alice’s understanding of how things worked, was to see a young man standing by Robin Hood’s grave. The young man was a stranger to her: tall and fair, but with a nest of dark curls resting a top of his head. The smile on the young man’s face was both sad and wistful, but even then, the dimples were clear on his face.

Alice felt herself slowing down to afford the man some privacy. Whoever he was, he clearly knew Robin Hood, and he deserved to mourn in peace. Still, as far away as she was, she could still hear every word he said.

“I’m sorry it took me so long to come visit. It’s just taken me awhile to get back here. Both because of portals and because…well, it was hard, knowing that you wouldn’t be here,” the young man murmured, placing his hand on tombstone. “They did as you said, and they did a great job raising me. Doesn’t mean I didn’t miss you though. Because I did. Every day I missed so much. It had been you and me for so long, and then you weren’t there anymore. Even learning how to shoot a bow was hard because you didn’t teach me.”

Here, the man stopped for a moment, putting his hands in his pocket and looking up at the sky. Alice couldn’t be sure, but she thought she saw a tear trail down his cheek. It was several moments before he looked back down at the headstone again and continued, “At first I was angry and resentful toward them. How could I go from such a magical world with electricity and ice cream and my family to the Enchanted Forest? But they were good to me and they raised me right. They did right by me. They really did. I just…missed you a lot.”

The young man took another deep breath, steadying himself as he continued to talk, “And then as I got older, I didn’t want to come back. I didn’t think there was a way back, yes, but part of me couldn’t…after all, what did I have here that I didn’t have there? It’s not like I had any more of a family here than I did back with the Merry Men. And Regina and Henry are here, but I…how could I even be sure that they even remembered me? I was so little, and we only had a few months together before I went back to the Enchanted Forest. They had been a family before me, and I was sure they’d be a family long after me too. I wasn’t…how could I be sure I meant anything to them?”

He smiled bitterly, the dimples on his face seeming so out of place with the look in his eyes. “And then, there’s my sister...she was only a few weeks old when I left. Would she even know who I was?”

Alice was so absorbed in the stranger’s story, trying to suppress her own tears, that she didn’t hear the soft footfalls of her girlfriend approach.

“Roland?” Robin croaked out. Alice jumped in surprise, but neither Roland nor Robin seemed to notice her. Their gazes were fixed on each other and a heavy, but not oppressive, silence hung in the air. Tears welled up in Robin’s eyes as she looked at the man standing before her father’s—their father’s—grave. “Roland, is that really you?”

The man turned around slowly, his own eyes filling with tears. “Are you…?” he started, unable to finish around the lump in his throat. Robin nodded, letting out a watery laugh. “How do you…I mean how can you…?”

“Please, I’d recognize those dimples anywhere,” Robin croaked, grinning while she sniffled. “Regina used to show me pictures on her phone of you. And my mom gave me the arrow you wanted me to have.” She smiled hesitantly. “I missed you.”

Something changed in the air and both siblings went running toward the other. When they finally met--and truly met for the first time in either of their young lives--Roland picked up his sister and spun her around. Robin’s face was buried in her brother’s shoulder, her knuckles all but white as she clung to him.

“I’ve got you, Peanut,” Roland whispered, tears running down his cheeks. “I’ve got you.”  Robin seemed to curl into him more, as the two started laughing. “Oh, let me get a good look at you,” he said, setting her down and standing back from him. “You look like him a little bit. You’ve got his chin. And his eyes.”

“Really?” she asked hopefully but didn’t have time to add more as her brother wrapped her up in another hug. “Welcome home,” she whispered, hugging her brother tightly. “Does Regina know you’re here? And Henry? Oh my God, they’ll be so excited,” she told him, wiping her eyes.

“No, I just got in,” Roland admitted shyly. “I didn’t think they’d want to see me.”

“Of course they want to see you,” Robin told him brightly. “You’re our family too.” The two hugged again and Roland sniffled, cupping the back of her head gently.

“Wait, you have a brother?” Alice finally asked, getting her wits about her.

“Who is this?” Roland asked, not quite letting go of Robin.

“Oh, that’s Alice,” Robin said. She bit her lip, her eyes flickering downward before flickering back up. “She’s, um…my girlfriend?” she offered hesitantly. “I don’t know how these things worked back in the Enchanted Forest. But, I brought her to meet Dad.”

“She met my Papa, and they got really close and he gave her a protective father speech,” Alice stepped in, hating how sad Robin seemed to get at the mention of her father. “And I wanted to meet hers. I mean yours. I mean—”

Roland chuckled and let go of Robin for a moment. He stepped closer to Alice and folded his arms. “So what are your intentions with my sister?” he asked, somewhat playfully. Robin and Alice caught eyes and Alice had to hold back her giggles.

“I’m going to marry her one day,” Alice said proudly, puffing out her chest. Robin blushed and smiled fondly at the ground.

“And you promise to be good to her?” Roland asked, his stern voice failing in the wake of his large smile.

“The best that I can be,” Alice replied honestly, shifting from foot to foot. “I can’t promise it will always be good, but I know I’ll always love her no matter how bad it gets.”

Robin came over and held her hand before leaning in to kiss her sweetly. “Right back atcha, Tower Girl,” she murmured softly, nudging their noses together.

“Well, how could anyone say no to that?” Roland asked. “C’mere, both of you.” Before both girls could even blink, they were pulled into a big hug.

“Welcome home, Roland,” Robin whispered softly, resting her head against her brother’s shoulder.


End file.
